Park hints at changing party name

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Rep. Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party’s (GNP) emergency committee, Tuesday indicated her willingness to change the name of the party as part of reform plans.

“I think the name of the party can be changed,” said Rep. Park during the GNP’s general meeting at the National Assembly. “But it all depends on whether our lawmakers want it or not.”

The GNP was originally established in 1997.

Park’s statement came amid mounting calls for dismantling the party in the lead up to the general election.

However, she clarified her opposition to the move toward re-creating the party.

Meanwhile, Park on the same day met her Democratic United Party (DUP) counterpart Han Myeong-sook one-on-one for the first time after Han won the leadership contest Sunday.

The first meeting of the two women leaders took place in a relatively friendly atmosphere.

But behind the scenes a tense feeling was captured as Han, a former democracy fighter during past authoritarian regimes, had to weather ordeals when Park’s father, the late President Park Chung-hee, ruled the nation.

During the 10-minute meeting, fully disclosed to the media, the two women agreed to revise the campaign law so parties can hold the primaries to select candidates to run in the parliamentary elections slated for April.

Currently, parties pick their candidates in a top-down manner under which a few leaders choose candidates based on application documents and public opinion surveys.

Park said the GNP was determined to select its candidates for the elections through primaries with the belief that the people should pick their representatives.

Han shared the view, saying the reform efforts will bear fruit. The DUP leader said she was pleased to take on the duty to upgrade the political culture together with Park this year.

The two, however, differed over whether to allow mobile phone voting or not. The DUP leader, who topped both mobile and delegation voting in Sunday’s competition, supported mobile voting whereas Park opposed it for fear of campaign fraud.

The Park-Han meeting took place as the new DUP leader paid a courtesy visit to the GNP interim head days after winning the competition to select the leadership lineup of the main opposition party.

Despite a shared view on the revision of the campaign law, it is inevitable that the DUP’s drive under Han’s leadership is bound to clash with that of the GNP as the two sides portray each other as factions representing the interests of their supporters.

In a radio address Tuesday, Han pledged to fight price hikes, youth unemployment and tax burdens.

She indicated the conservative ruling party represents the best interests of the haves, which the DUP leader described as the top 1 percent.

The GNP is working on its platform and policies ahead of the parliamentary election. The conservative party seeks to scrap the growth-oriented policy vision while expanding social spending in order to woo the working class.

Uncomfortable duo

Park is the daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee who repressed democracy activists, allegedly including Han.

The two leaders have had very different life and career paths before they joined the National Assembly together in 2000 as lawmakers.

Han, now 68, was put behind bars for two years from 1979 after having been involved in a spy scandal, dubbed the “Christian Academy” case.

The late President Park ruled the nation when Han was arrested.

Han’s husband also served 13 years in a prison for a spy scandal in 1967.

Speaking at a rally on Jeju Island on Dec. 28 last year during the DUP leadership competition, Han labeled Park as the daughter of a dictator.

“I was tortured and had bruises while in a prison for I stood against dictatorship in the past. Park Geun-hye is the daughter of dictator Park Chung-hee,” she said. “If I am elected as the DUP leader and allowed to lead the party to fight against the GNP, I am sure that our party will win in the elections.”

Compared with the eventful life of Han as an activist, Rep. Park, 60, spent most of early days of her life in Cheong Wa Dae as her father ruled the nation for nearly 20 years.

Since taking over power in 1961 through a military coup, the late Park held the top job until October 1979 when he was assassinated by the chief of Korea’s spy agency.

Her mother was also assassinated while Park was in office.

With her two siblings, Park had to weather nearly two decades of tough times as the campaign to examine Park Chung-hee’s legacy in democracy and human rights was carried out by the next governments.